Holiday Gift Books for Beginners
Quality Stories for Early Readers Ages 4 to 8
Time to shop for presents of the season - gift your family, teachers or special kids with great books.
Holidays – tons of toys, candy and electronic gadgets. Make your gift stand out. Little children will remember their favorite books long after the bells and whistles on other things go dark. Here are some mini-reviews of this year's best volumes for younger readers.
Little Toot by Hardie Gramatky (Illus. by Hardie Gramatky) G.P.Putnam’s Sons, 2007.) Little Toot was first published in 1939. That means your mother or grandmother might have read that story when it was new. This version is a restored edition with the vibrant colors and endpapers from the original, which haven't been seen in many, many years. This is a classic story of effort and success. It'll bring you and your family to their feet. Gramatky’s story and artistic illustrations are based on actual tugboats he watched from his studio in Manhattan. He was known as one of the 20 great American watercolorists. Purchasing this book for a child is actually a gift for you. $17.99.
Out Came the Sun by Heather Collins Illus. by Heather Collins), Kids Can Press, 2007. Simply written and simply illustrated, this is a collection of the most basic nursery rhymes remembered through the decades. Though it's meant to be read aloud, this book is workable for beginning readers with some practice. You'll love the illustrations—whimsical in warm, brilliant colors. It feels like a book full of sunshine. Let this be your family's favorite nursery rhyme book. $19.95
Big Momma Makes the World by Phyllis Root (Illus. Helen Oxenbury) Candlewood Press, 2007. Horn Book Award winner. As long as you have the ability to look outside tradition and open your mind for your children, you will read this book over and over just for pure pleasure and delight. Ms. Roots story is the age old story of creation with a brilliant twist. The creator is Big Momma. Her story is told with unforgettable illustrations including one that’s black-on-black, illustrating the birth of nighttime. It's impossible not to fall in love with these characters, the down-home language and the joyful book in its entirety. And who's to say the story isn't true? $6.99
Chester by Melanie Watt (Illus. by Melanie Watt) Kids Can Press, 2007. Ms. Watt’s opening note to readers: “I apologize for Chester's behavior in my mouse story sorry for the inconvenience." Chester, wherein Ms. Watt writes a story and naughty tester red pens it and then rewrites it to his own messy preferences is, simply, great fun. The illustrations were done in pencil and watercolor, then assembled digitally. Appealing for almost anyone's sense of wry humor. $16.95
